省 (shěng/xǐng) — province; verb — to save, omit; (xǐng) to examine, visit

entries → 省

TSUMUGU · TOCFL 2 (est.) · 字

省 character · TOCFL 2 (est.)

省＝少＋目

ㄕㄥˇ · shěng/xǐng

noun — province; verb — to save, omit; (xǐng) to examine, visit

字源 FORM — what the parts do

少聲worn from 生 shēng — gives the soundthe oracle graph writes 生 over the eye; copying wore it into 少

Tshēng → shěng — tone only; the xǐng reading drifted further

目義an eye

An eye (目) under 生 shēng — the sound, worn by copying into 少. The first word is xǐng, to look closely: 反省 turns the look inward, 省親 carries it home to one's parents. Read shěng, looking close becomes trimming away — 節省、省錢 — and names the province: the 行省, the empire's office sent out on the road.

故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by

他瞇起眼（目），帳本一行一行對過去——少（少）一文都看得出來。

Eyes (目) narrowed, he checks the ledger line by line — one coin short (少) and he sees it.

字源記憶法

意 · Meanings

shěng

(引申)節省、省略— to save, omit — trim what close looking finds spare常用

(引申)省份— province — from 行省, the branch secretariat常用

xǐng

(本義)察看、反省— to look into; to examine oneself

→省親— to visit one's parents — the look carried home

(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension